Over the last three decades, interest in equine behaviour has grown remarkably. This has generated a wealth of useful information and genuine advances in ethical approaches to both the training and care of equines. However it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the possibilities. So, which do we follow? How do we decide what may be genuinely helpful for a particular horse? How do we evaluate the ethics, validity, and practicality of research findings, advice, or training methods in general?
This book aims at answering these questions and two in particular:
- How can I best help the individual horse in front of me?
- How can I generalise an approach to helping horses so that equine professionals and horse owners alike can benefit from it?
The authors present an innovative approach to equine psychological healthcare. Areas such as mental well-being, attachment theory and working with trauma are explored in the context of Trans-species Psychology. Readers will gain a rich understanding of equine psychological needs.
Applied Equine Psychology is essential for owners seeking to better understand their horses, academics exploring applied psychological models, and is a textbook for the professional practice of Equine Psychology Specialists.
It is beautifully illustrated by Diana Hand and combines established concepts with numerous case studies and practical, intuitive advice.
It may change the way you think about horses forever.
Felicity George has ridden and worked with horses for many years, and for more than 20 years has taken a serious interest in horse behaviour, studying a wide range of traditional and ‘alternative’ approaches to dealing with behavioural issues.
Dr Marie-Louise Holmes (BSc, MSc, DClinPsych) is an HCPC registered Consultant Clinical Psychologist with twenty years of experience working in: adult mental health, in-patient forensic psychiatry, autism, learning disability, brain injury rehabilitation, addictions, suicide prevention and child and family services.
Sharon Smith holds an MSc in Applied Equine Science including nutrition and welfare, and is a qualified riding coach and equine behaviourist. She’s kept horses for decades and contributes educational material to the EBA and global charities.
